Evolution (and a little intervention)
by XenaFan74656
Summary: First time story following the development of the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle. The first few chapters are epilogues to several episodes from seasons one - four. The last few chapters all take place towards the end of season four. I'm hoping to upload new chapters fairly frequently over the next couple of weeks.
1. Chapter 1

**Evolution (and a little intervention)...**

_**Day Three (after 'Sins of the Past')**_

'And then came Xena, descending like a storm or blackest night, over the landscape...'

The raven-haired warrior woman riding on the palomino mare sighed. She'd been trying to ignore the chattering of the blond woman jogging along by her side, but she found that she couldn't tune it out any longer. 'What are you talking about, Gabrielle?' She sounded more exasperated than she meant to.

Not that the girl noticed. She paused mid-sentence and looked up at Xena, wide green eyes meeting more suspicious blue ones. Xena was the first to look away. Gabrielle's innocence was disconcerting. 'I was just planning my new scroll.'

_Because clearly you can't plan them silently._ Xena stopped herself from saying it out loud. The girl always looked a bit like a wounded puppy when Xena spoke to her harshly. And then Xena would feel guilty. That was the worst thing about this being good lark; the feeling guilty. In all her years as a warlord, Xena had never had to deal with guilt before.

'What's the scroll about?' Xena asked, mainly because it was impossible to stay quiet when confronted by those all-too-gentle eyes.

'Just what happened yesterday. With those bandits.'

Xena thought back to the previous day, trying and failing to remember descending anywhere like a storm. Unless... 'Wait,' she said, 'you're talking about when I fell out of that tree?'

'You didn't fall, Xena. You heard the bandits approaching and you descended from the tree like blackest night.'

'No. I fell. I climbed the tree to steal honey, then a bee stung my hand and I lost my grip and fell. It was just coincidence that those bandits happened to be passing and I landed on one of them.'

But Gabrielle wasn't listening. 'And then you reigned blows upon them with fists of steel...'

'I punched one of them in the nose. Not even that hard.'

'You overcame the foe in a mighty battle...'

'They ran away, Gabrielle. They were the most cowardly bandits I've ever met. It was literally one punch and then they ran.'

'You wrested their ill-gotten bounty from their arms and returned it to its rightful owner.'

'They dropped a bag of money when they ran away. I picked it up. It was all of 10 dinars.'

'And the poor orphan girl rejoiced to have her life's savings returned to her.'

'How do you know she was an orphan? She was just some kid who came running after the bandits saying that they'd stolen the money she was going to use to buy some new hair serum.'

Gabrielle stopped then and turned to fully face Xena. 'You have no sense of drama,' she declared.

'Maybe. I have a sense of truth instead. I fell out of a tree and accidentally helped some kid get shinier hair. Hardly the stuff of legend.'

'Everything's the stuff of legend. Take Hercules; he swept out some old bag's stable and suddenly it's a heroic deed.'

'That 'old bag' was Hera and she didn't exactly make it easy for him.'

They had resumed walking, but now Gabrielle stopped again, eyes flashing with delight. 'That's what he says!' There was a triumphant tone to her voice. 'If Hercules sweeping some dusty old stable can be heroic, then you falling out of a tree can be just as heroic.'

Xena could think of a thousand reasons why that wasn't true, but, for some reason, she didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings. 'Fine, fine,' she muttered. Then, looking around her, added 'maybe we should camp here for the night.'

'I'm like your public relations team,' Gabrielle was saying as Xena dismounted and started to pull the camping things from Argo's saddlebags. 'I'll be responsible for your image...'

But Xena had tuned her out again. Seriously, the girl did nothing but talk. All day. She even talked in her sleep. It was like having an insect constantly buzzing by your ear. Maybe she should send her home; Potidaea wasn't that far behind them, only a day's ride or so. And the road was no place for one so young and innocent.

'Gabrielle...' Xena said, aware that she was interrupting, but then, Gabrielle talked so much that you had to interrupt to say anything at all.

'Yes, Xena?' There was a pause then, an actual pause, the first in days, during which Gabrielle looked at Xena with such eagerness and enthusiasm that Xena's calloused old warlord's heart melted into a small puddle of goo.

'I'm...I'm going to collect some firewood.'

And with that the warrior literally fled into the trees. _I'll send her home tomorrow_, she thought, but, even as she thought it, her mind's eye filled with the image of those big, green eyes, just looking at her in that way that Gabrielle had.

She shook her head a little to try and rid herself of the image and, as she did so, one of the plants growing nearby caught her eye. It was a herb and before she had quite realised what she was doing, she had bent down to pick it. _'I can use it to flavour that deer we have left over from yesterday. Gabrielle would like that.'_

She paused, mid-movement, realising what she'd just thought. _You're going soft_,' she whispered to herself and then she carried on picking the herb anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Day Thirty-Nine (between 'Dreamworker' and 'Cradle of Hope')**_

Gabrielle was quiet. It had been at least an hour since she'd spoken. In all their time travelling together, this was by far the longest silence. A few weeks ago, Xena would have welcomed it, prayed for it almost, but now all she could feel was a gnawing sense of guilt. After all, it was her fault that Gabrielle was here and not safe in a warm cottage in Potidaea.

Xena glanced down at her travelling companion. She was mounted on Argo while Gabrielle trudged along at her side and trudged was the right word for it. The accentuated height difference between them made Gabrielle seem a lot younger than usual. The blond head was drooping, the usually eager feet were dragging, leaving trails in the snow.

Without really realising what she was doing, Xena pulled her own coat from her shoulders and tossed it down to Gabrielle. 'Put that on.' It came out as almost a growl. Xena had never been very good at these kinds of situations.

'But then you'll be cold.'

'I can take it.' Inwardly, Xena cursed. Now she'd made it sound as though she thought Gabrielle was weak which wasn't true at all. The girl was actually surprisingly tough.

Much to Xena's surprise, Gabrielle didn't protest further. Instead, she wrapped the old fur coat around her. It engulfed her completely and Xena felt something stir deep in the core of her being at the sight of Gabrielle in her coat. It seemed almost intimate. _Now where did that thought come from?_

Xena shook her head, mentally and literally, and looked away from Gabrielle, towards the misty horizon. It was all too easy to get lost in the snow. She knew she should concentrate and yet, her thoughts kept wandering back to the girl stumbling along at her side. That had been happening a lot recently. Xena had felt responsible for Gabrielle since their first day together, but her feelings seemed to have gone beyond responsibility. She found herself confiding in Gabrielle, telling her things which she wouldn't tell anyone else, found herself referring to the other woman as 'my friend'. And there was something else too, something in the way their eyes locked at night across the camp fire, something in the way the sight of Gabrielle doing the most menial of tasks was mesmerising.

Again, Xena shook her head. This arrangement that they had was temporary. It was only a matter of time before Gabrielle met a handsome young man in some village somewhere and decided to stay with him. And the worst thing was that Xena knew that that would be for the best. Gabrielle needed more than an embittered old warlord could give. And Gabrielle would want a man. Bitter experience had taught Xena that that was inevitable.

A change in the rhythm of Gabrielle's walking pulled Xena from her reverie. She looked down again to find the girl stumbling and up to her knees in snow. The hair was being pulled back from her forehead by the biting wind and the skin of her face had turned almost blue.

'Gabrielle,' Xena said, trying to keep her tone sympathetic rather than reprimanding 'please let me give you a lift.'

'I'm fine. Really.' Gabrielle's teeth were chattering so much she could hardly speak.

'No you're not.'

Doggedly, Gabrielle tried to step forwards and, as she did so, she slipped and stumbled. In one fluid motion, Xena was on the ground. She took Gabrielle in her arms and mounted Argo once more, this time with Gabrielle seated in front of her.

'I was honestly fine,' Gabrielle protested.

'No you weren't.'

Xena realised then that they were now in an unexpectedly intimate position. Gabrielle had only ever ridden behind her before, not in front. In order to reach the reins, Xena had to put her arms around Gabrielle's waist. She did so, stiffly, trying not to touch Gabrielle any more than she had to. Gabrielle was sitting up very straight so that there was a space of a few centimetres between them.

'Maybe...' Xena began at the same time as Gabrielle said 'Perhaps...'

There was an awkward pause then and a ripple of nervous laughter from both of them. The air between them was heavy with something.

'You first.' Gabrielle said, leaning even further forwards and away from Xena. Argo chose that moment to move her head so that Xena's hand, still holding the reins was jerked downwards until it brushed Gabrielle's arm. And just like that, her hand was on fire. She couldn't stop looking at the place where they were touching, skin on skin.

'You're so warm...' Gabrielle said aloud, also looking. Xena pressed her hand flat against Gabrielle's arm. It was like ice.

'I was going to say that riding at the back might be more comfortable for you, but maybe we should conserve body heat...Unless you'd prefer to be behind me.'

Gabrielle hesitated. 'Would it bother you if I leant back a bit?' she said at last.

'No,' Xena said hastily. 'No, not at all.' And to reinforce the point, she tied Argo's reins to the front of the saddle – the horse was practically telepathic after all and didn't really need anyone to actually steer – and wrapped both of her arms around Gabrielle's waist, pulling her friend back against her.

For a moment, Gabrielle stayed as stiff as ever, but then, quite suddenly, she relaxed, sagging back against Xena as the tension drained from her. The top of Gabrielle's head came to just underneath Xena's chin.

'Warmer now?' Xena asked to break the silence and fully realising the irony of her being the one to break the silence.

'I'm sorry...' Gabrielle whispered.

'For what, Sweetheart?' _Did I just call her 'Sweetheart'?_

'Did you just call me 'Sweetheart'?

For a moment, Xena was tempted to deny it, but Gabrielle looked so small and sad she couldn't quite bring herself to. 'I guess I did. Don't tell anyone though, it'll ruin my image.'

Gabrielle's shoulders were shaking. For a moment, Xena was worried she was crying, but Gabrielle turned her head to the side and Xena could see that the shaking was from laughter.

'I'll make sure I tell Hercules the next time we see him.'

'I'm just glad you're smiling again,' was Xena's only reply and she couldn't quite believe she'd just said it. She didn't think she'd ever said anything quite so soppy before.

Gabrielle had stopped laughing now. 'I'm sorry for being so slow. You'd travel a lot faster without me.'

'But I wouldn't want to travel without you.'

'Really?' The blond head turned and the big green eyes were looking up at her.

'Really.'

Gabrielle seemed reassured and faced forwards again. But a few seconds later she said softly 'We wouldn't be on this journey right now if it wasn't for me.'

'I said I'd take you home for the Winter Solstice and I will, not because I have to, but because I want to.'

'You don't mind riding through the snow.'

'I've ridden through worse...' Xena paused, then added 'Sweetheart.'

Xena felt, rather than saw, Gabrielle smile. The younger woman relaxed back against her and, within minutes, the rhythm of Argo's walking had lulled her to sleep. Xena regarded Gabrielle for a moment, surprised by how much she enjoyed the sensation of closeness and then shook her head. She had a lot of things to think about.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Day Seventy (sometime after 'The Titans')**_

They had money for once – nearly 100 dinars. The mayor of the last village they'd saved had paid them. This was entirely unprecedented; normally they got a wary thank you and maybe a free meal before they were politely encouraged to be on their way. Everyone was grateful for the work they did, but no one wanted them to stay for too long. They were worried that the warrior princess and her friend (or lover or servant or handmaiden or younger sister – no one could ever work out exactly who Gabrielle was) would be a bad influence on the children. The residents of the last town had been no different, but they'd done away with the politeness of a free meal and just paid with cold, hard cash. In a way, Xena preferred that. It was more honest somehow.

Xena leaned back in her chair and just relished the feeling for a moment. It wasn't often that they had chairs or the time to lean back in them. It was next to never that they had the chance to stay in an inn. In fact, she didn't think she'd stayed in an inn since Gabrielle had started travelling with her. Gabrielle. Just the thought of her friend brought a smile to Xena's face. Gabrielle didn't know about the money yet. Xena had wanted to surprise her.

'There you are. I've been looking all over town for you.'

Xena was startled from her reverie by a small blond person sliding into the chair opposite. Gabrielle had her hair half up today with a tiny plait at the front. For some reason, Xena found herself thinking about how it would feel to plait that beautiful golden hair. Under the table, she clenched her hands into fists to stop herself from reaching out and stroking the soft, delicate strands.

'What are we doing in an inn?' Gabrielle was asking.

A waiter chose that moment to put two gigantic plates of stew in front of them accompanied by ale and liberal amounts of crusty bread.

'What's all this? We can't afford this.'

'That's where you're wrong,' Xena grinned as she put the bag of money on the table, letting it hit the wooden surface with a resounding thud. 'That last village paid us for saving them.'

'Paid us with actual money? Did you check it was real?'

'Definitely real.'

Gabrielle's face lit up at once and Xena's heart positively sang at the sight of it. 'Then we can afford this! Can we afford a bath too? And maybe some rooms for the night?'

'We can afford anything you want.'

Gabrielle's grin widened as she began to attack the plate of stew. And 'attack' was the right word for it; she set about eating with the same enthusiasm one would normally reserve for a military campaign. For a few moments, Xena just watched her with equal measures of astonishment and respect.

'Aren't you going to eat anything?' Gabrielle demanded between mouthfuls.

'Oh…sure.' Xena took a tentative bite of the bread and then sighed in satisfaction. After months of eating rabbit cooked over a campfire, this was pure bliss.

Later, much later, after they had sampled everything on the menu, they asked for two rooms for the night and were told there was only one. Immediately, Xena felt awkward to the very core of her being, although she knew she shouldn't. After all, she slept next to Gabrielle outside every night. Sleeping next to her inside was no different. Except it was, it was all kinds of different. Sleeping next to her inside had connotations Xena wasn't ready to think about.

The room was small and was mostly bed. Xena had never been embarrassed by a bed before, but now just looking at it made her blush. Gabrielle seemed completely at ease and waltzed off to have a bath, leaving Xena standing in the empty room, staring at a bed-shaped nemesis. She had three options; share the bed with Gabrielle, sleep on the distinctly hard-looking floor, or share the stables with Argo. The Argo option seemed to be by far the best, but Gabrielle would never let her sleep outside when there was a room available. Sleeping in the bed was out of the question for reasons Xena was trying her best not to examine, so it would have to be the floor.

She pulled a couple of the blankets and one of the pillows from the bed and set about arranging them on the floor. As she knelt down, she was struck anew by just how hard the floor actually was. It seemed like she wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight, but then again, she wouldn't have got any sleep in the bed either.

'What are you doing?' Gabrielle was back from her bath and clad in a pastel pink nightdress. Her hair was damp and beads of water still glistened on skin which was glowing from the heat of the bath. Xena swallowed. Hard.

'Nice outfit,' she mumbled.

Gabrielle flushed a little. 'I thought, as we were sleeping inside for a change, I might as well wear it.' She sat down on the bed and gazed pointedly at the blankets on the floor. 'There's room for both of us in the bed you know.'

'The floor's fine. I prefer it in fact. Better for my back.'

Gabrielle looked sceptical. 'Since when have you had back problems?'

'It's a preventative measure.'

'Well, if it's so good for you, then maybe I should sleep on the floor too.' She began to pull the other blankets off the bed and pile them on the floor next to Xena's.

'Gabrielle, no. You have the bed.'

'No,' Gabrielle said, sitting on the pile of blankets, stubbornness etched onto her features. 'It isn't fair. Either we both sleep comfortably or neither of us does.'

Xena knew that expression all too well. It was the expression which meant that Gabrielle had made up her mind and nothing in the universe would induce her to change it. It was annoying, but it was also strangely endearing.

'Fine,' Xena said, standing and beginning to pile the blankets back onto the bed. 'But don't complain if I snore or kick you or steal all the covers.

'Who knows? I might kick you.' Gabrielle grinned at her, mischief in her eyes, and Xena felt her legs turn to jelly and her heart start pounding in her chest. Sharing a bed was a very bad idea indeed. Gabrielle had climbed into the bed now, flashing a large amount of thigh in the process. She slid down under the covers and looked expectantly at Xena.

To buy herself more time, Xena turned away and began removing her armour, undoing each buckle and strap as slowly as she could. Her hands were shaking.

'_This is ridiculous,'_ she told herself _'you've taken on entire armies by yourself. This shouldn't be difficult.'_ But it was.

When she'd finally run out of armour to unbuckle and was dressed only in her shift, she turned and faced the bed again, feeling as she imagined it would feel to single-handedly take on the might of Rome. Looking at Gabrielle as little as possible, she got into the bed and gingerly lay down flat on her back and kept very still. She was all too aware of Gabrielle's warm presence beside her.

'Not so bad is it?' Gabrielle whispered.

Xena wanted to scream that it was awful, but all she said was 'no, it's not too bad' and hoped that her voice didn't sound too unsteady. She risked a glance over at Gabrielle and their eyes met. Xena saw with surprise that there was something unexpected in her friend's eyes, something which she was too scared to name, but which made her stomach turn somersaults. It would be so easy to reach out and touch her, to close the handbreadth of distance between them. All of a sudden, the air between them was heavy with awkwardness. Xena looked away. By an unspoken agreement, they settled down to sleep with their backs to each other and a gap down the middle of the bed.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Day 104 (directly after 'Hooves and Harlots')**_

Xena spun around silently, taking in every detail of the quiet forest which surrounded her. In the far distance, she could hear a gentle murmur of sounds coming from the Amazon village, but here, in the clearing, everything was silent.

Then she heard it; a noise which cut through the silence like thunder. Somewhere, a twig had snapped. Instantly, Xena was running towards the sound on feet which were as light as air and as quiet as a panther. There was the twig, there were the delicate footprints leading up to it, but where was she? Xena stopped for a moment, perplexed.

There was a giggle and then a soft thud behind her as Gabrielle jumped down from the tree and landed on the ground. 'Said you wouldn't be able to find me,' she taunted.

'No you didn't. You said I wouldn't be able to catch you before you got to the lake. That's not the same thing.'

'You're so...literal!' Gabrielle sighed in mock annoyance. Then she has turned and was running 'still haven't caught me though!' she yelled over her shoulder.

Xena set off after her, making sure that she looked as though she was running her fastest, when, in reality, she was letting Gabrielle win. They chased each other through the trees, feet flying, hearts pounding, breath coming in short, sharp gasps. And there was the lake, glistening sapphire in front of them.

'I win!' Shouted Gabrielle and then tripped and fell flat on her face, still laughing as she did so.

'No you don't!' Seeing an opportunity, Xena ran faster, scooped up a rather muddy Gabrielle and unceremoniously tossed her into the lake.

'Xena!' Gabrielle's head broke through the surface of the lake with an anguished cry. Xena lost focus for a moment, transfixed by the way Gabrielle's new Amazon clothes suddenly clung to her body. She was so transfixed that she didn't notice one of Gabrielle's hands shoot outwards and make a grab for her ankles. Xena fell backwards and was pulled, feet first, into the water. At that point, the two of them looked at each other and burst out laughing.

_We're like a couple of lovesick teenagers,_ Xena thought to herself. And they were. All they seemed to do these days was play. They played chase, they played word games, they played hide and seek. Yesterday, they'd come oh-so-close to playing catch with the chakram. Xena had never known anything like it – even as a child, she hadn't played this much. Not that she wasn't enjoying it, because she was. Immensely. It was just...unexpected.

They were flirting as well, or at least Gabrielle was, although Xena wasn't sure if it was deliberate or even if Gabrielle really knew what she was doing. For her part, Xena was trying her hardest not to flirt back and failing miserably. There was prolonged eye contact across the campfire at night, bedrolls which were slowly creeping closer together, accidental hand brushing as they passed one another things. Gabrielle was riding on Argo more, her body pressed up against Xena's back. And, strangest of all, Xena found herself talking all the time; she kept finding excuses to talk to Gabrielle about the most trivial of things, and, every time there was a moment's silence, she would try and think of something to fill it. They talked all the time anyway, but suddenly it didn't seem like enough.

The laughter had stopped now and been replaced with yet more prolonged eye contact. Both of them were shaking although it was hard to know whether that was from the cold of the lake or from something else entirely. As Xena watched, the smile slowly faded from Gabrielle's face and was replaced with an expression which was far more serious. The green eyes kept flicking to Xena's lips and then back to her face, small hands had found their way to Xena's shoulders and they were standing so close that Xena could feel the soft tickle of Gabrielle's breath on her neck.

With a physical effort, Xena stepped away and one foot went straight into a dip in the bed of the lake. Xena stumbled and fell backwards which, luckily, was enough to break the tension between them because Gabrielle began to laugh again.

Much later, as they were sat by the campfire, finishing their evening meal, Xena noticed that Gabrielle looked deep in thought. A month ago, she would have left Gabrielle to her silence, but not now. Now she had to know what was bothering her. 'Everything ok?' she asked.

Gabrielle's head jerked upwards in surprise. 'I was just thinking about some things.'

Old stoic Xena would have left it at that and gone off somewhere to polish her armour. New lovesick Xena couldn't. 'Any things in particular?'

'The Amazons.'

It wasn't quite the answer which Xena had been expecting and for some reason she felt a crushing sense of disappointment in her chest. Silently, she quelled it. What had she been expecting, that Gabrielle would declare her undying love? And, if she had, what then? Talking about the Amazons was at least easier than that.

'What about the Amazons?'

'While we were there, I noticed some things...' a deep blush was spreading across Gabrielle's face. Xena had a horrible feeling that she knew what was coming next. 'I saw them...kissing,' Gabrielle was staring at the ground, so red she almost glowed and Xena was struck anew by just how sheltered her upbringing had been.

Xena tried to make a joke out of it to ease the sudden awkwardness. 'Well that happens sometimes...when people love each other...'

'I know that!'

'I know you know that, but...'

'But the Amazons are all girls! There were girls kissing girls!' Gabrielle said it all in a rush as if she didn't particularly want to be having this conversation either and wanted it over with as quickly as possible.

'Gender isn't always important when you love someone...'

'So does that happen a lot? Girls and girls, I mean...'

'More often than you'd think.' Xena paused, wondering how many of her own past experiences she was ready to share and how many of them Gabrielle was ready to hear.

But Gabrielle got there before her. 'Have you ever...? With a girl...?'

Now Xena was blushing which was distinctly odd. Normally the subject of sex didn't bother her. 'Yes,' she said softly.

'What's it like?' Both of them were looking away now, intently staring at the ground, the treeline, the stars, anything but each other.

'Wonderful,' Xena replied 'And awful and all the things in between, but that's not because there's another woman involved, that's just what being in love is. It's like every feeling is magnified a thousand times, like every detail matters. When you're in love, the smallest smile can make you happy beyond reason, the tiniest disagreement can make you miserable for weeks...'

'It sounds remarkable.'

'It is.'

They both looked up at the same time as if compelled to do so. The starlight made Gabrielle's hair gleam silver. Her lips were parted slightly, her eyes were deep emerald pools in which Xena could have got lost forever. For several seconds, neither of them spoke and then Gabrielle whispered in a voice so soft that it was barely louder than breathing 'you're very beautiful.'

'Just what I was going to say,' Xena whispered back. Then, realising what was about to happen and knowing she should stop it, she stood up and mumbled an excuse about having to tend to Argo and disappeared off into the woods.

That night, Xena made sure her bedroll was on the other side of the fire to Gabrielle's and neither of them slept very much.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Day 308 (after 'the Quest' and 'A Necessary Evil')**_

At first coming back had been easy; there had been so much to do. They'd had to get rid of Callisto for one thing, and Valasca, and then Autolycus had hung around for a few days and Joxer had stopped by. There hadn't really been any time to think about things or to talk about things. In fact, Xena had somehow managed to entirely avoid talking to Gabrielle one-on-one ever since that whole vision kiss thing had happened. Now though, she couldn't avoid it any longer. Joxer and Autolycus had both left earlier in the day and she and Gabrielle were alone. Usually that was how Xena liked. She'd spent long periods of time in the past actively trying to get Joxer to leave; now she would have given anything to have heard a few verses of 'Joxer the Mighty' echoing through the woods.

Xena dragged out her chores for as long as she could. Argo had never been brushed as thoroughly and she'd never taken quite such a long time to catch a fish before, but there was a limit to even Xena's admittedly formidable procrastination abilities. The time had come to face Gabrielle and the fact that she'd kissed her. The fact that Gabrielle had responded enthusiastically was beside the point. Gabrielle didn't understand these things and had no inkling of any of the reasons why kissing the warrior princess was a very bad idea indeed.

Xena walked back to the campsite and there was Gabrielle, sitting cross-legged on the ground, her scrolls in her lap. It didn't take a genius to see she'd been crying. Immediately, Xena felt like the most awful person in the world; she was responsible for every one of those tears and that was by far the worst crime that she'd ever committed.

At her approach, Gabrielle looked up and forced a smile which was more like a grimace. 'Hey,' she said with false cheeriness. It was clear that she wanted to keep the crying a secret and Xena had to respect that.

'Hey,' Xena paused and stood still, feeling awkward. 'I caught a fish.'

'Great. I'll…er…,' Gabrielle's voice trailed off, but she stood up and took the fish anyway, turning her back on Xena as she began to prepare it.

'I can cook it,' Xena offered. 'If you want to carry on writing…'

'I'd rather you didn't,' there was a hint of a smile in Gabrielle's voice. 'I'd like to actually be able to eat it.'

Xena smiled at the teasing tone. It was her first genuine smile in several days. She retreated to the edge of the campsite and began polishing her chakram, stealing occasional glances at Gabrielle as she did so. Every now and then, she would get a flashback to the kiss, to the feel of Gabrielle's soft lips on hers. She hastily pushed such thoughts away, trying to stay focused on the here and now.

When the fish was cooked, Gabrielle brought it over and they sat down next to each other to eat. After a moment's silence, Gabrielle looked up at her. 'I'm glad you're back,' she said very softly.

'Me too,' Xena replied. She almost said more, but thought better of it at the last moment. There was so much between them which was unspoken and perhaps it was better if it remained that way for the time being.

'I missed you.' Gabrielle said, looking a little embarrassed.

'_I know you did,'_ Xena wanted to say _'The dead can hear your thoughts, remember? I know you missed me and I know you want more than friendship from me. That's why I kissed you. I want more too, but we can't have more. I can't let it happen. It's too dangerous for you. You'd become a target for those who would hurt me, even more than you are now. And I would hurt you. I wouldn't mean to, but I would. It would be far better for you if you found a nice boy and settled down. Better, for everyone in fact. Except me. But I'm not important.'_

What she actually said was a gruff 'missed you too.'

There was a pause. Their eyes met and there was an intensity in Gabrielle's which Xena wasn't expecting. Xena felt a blush rising on her cheeks. Perhaps Gabrielle had remembered that the dead could hear her thoughts after all?

'Xena,' Gabrielle said, looking away and staring determinedly at the ground. 'Was it you who kissed me or was it Autolycus? It's fine either way, I just want to know.'

And there it was. A way out. It would have been so easy to say it was Autolycus and have done with it. But Xena couldn't lie to her. 'It was me,' she said.

There was another pause, then, softly 'I'm glad.'

'Glad?'

'Glad it was you and not him.'

'Gabrielle,' now Xena did look at her 'You and me…' She stopped and fidgeted. She would have given anything for an unexpected attack by a barbarian horde at that moment, but, for once, no horde was forthcoming. She took a deep breath and started again. 'I like what we have, the relationship we have…' She trailed off feeling like a terrible person.

For a moment, Gabrielle looked as though she might cry again. Then, the hint of tears was gone as quickly as it had begun.

'I like what we have too,' she said quickly and then muttered something about washing-up the frying pan and disappeared in the direction of the stream.

By the time Gabrielle came back, Xena was lying down in her sleeping furs, tears close to the surface, but not currently spilling over. She watched Gabrielle pick up her own sleeping furs with a strange feeling that this was a test, that the physical distance Gabrielle chose to put between them was representative of her emotional distance. She was expecting Gabrielle to put the fire between them at the very least and she took a steadying breath to prepare herself for the pain that would cause.

But Gabrielle didn't put anything between them. Instead, she walked over to where Xena lay, furs in her arms and stated 'it's cold tonight.'

'Very cold,' Xena said, wondering where she was going with this and feeling strangely vulnerable, lying on the ground.

'We should conserve body heat. Share your furs and put mine on top.'

'Are you sure? Even after…?'

'Like I said, I'm glad it was you who kissed me and not Autolycus. I wouldn't share sleeping furs with him in any temperature.' There was a catch is Gabrielle's voice, but she was trying her best to hide it. Xena pretended not to notice and, instead, shifted over to one side, allowing Gabrielle to get in beside her.

They lay in silence, side by side, but not touching. Slowly, but surely the tears which Xena had been holding back began to leak from the corners of her eyes.

'You're crying,' Gabrielle said. 'You don't cry.'

'Sometimes I do. I'm crying now because I'm so lucky to have you and because I'm so afraid of pushing you away. You do understand why we can't…?'

'I understand.' Gabrielle moved over, closing the distance between them so that they were touching at the shoulder. Xena felt a small hand grip hers under the covers. 'I understand, Xena. And it's me who's lucky to have you.'

And they lay that way until morning, not speaking and not really sleeping either, but both of them feeling more content than they had in a long time.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Day 510 (after 'The Bitter Suite')**_

Gabrielle was singing. Something had happened to her voice in Illusia; it had been transformed into a beautiful, clear soprano. Now that was gone and it was back to being a cheery croak. All the same, it made Xena smile. Now they were friends again, everything Gabrielle did made Xena smile. Things weren't quite back to the way they had been – they were still a little wary around each other – but they were getting there slowly.

Xena paused. She had walked up the path from the forest to the beach which they had found themselves on after returning from Illusia. After a day spent locating Argo who, somewhat miraculously, had turned up nearby, and gathering supplies, they were preparing to camp on the beach. Xena's arms were full of firewood and her boots were full of sand.

She had paused because she had seen Gabrielle. Her companion was sitting on a rock by the waterline, brushing her hair and dangling her feet in the water. The last rays of the setting sun had turned her hair to liquid, burning gold and her soft skin seemed to glow. She was singing an old country song about a woman searching for the other half of her soul. Xena knew, as she watched, that her own search was over. It suddenly became clear to her that, some time ago now, she had devoted her entire being to the woman in front of her, that she would do anything to keep her safe and happy. The physical wasn't important now. What mattered was everything else.

Gabrielle looked around then, her eyes meeting Xena's and her face re-arranging itself into a slightly goofy grin. Xena knew that her own face looked exactly the same. During their time apart, she had missed Gabrielle so much that it hurt, but now that hurt was gone. The disquiet within her soul had eased and she felt whole again.

'Hey you,' she said.

Gabrielle's grin widened at the familiarity of her greeting 'Hey yourself.'

Xena added the firewood to the gently smouldering embers they'd cooked dinner over and then went to sit beside Gabrielle on the rock.

'Were you watching me?' Gabrielle asked.

'Not at all. I was pausing to get my breath back.'

Gabrielle laughed. 'You were watching me.'

'Can you blame me? You're beautiful.' Xena didn't mean to say it aloud, but it just slipped out and, once she'd said it, she was glad she had.

'So are you.' Gabrielle shifted position slightly so that her shoulder was pressing against Xena's. Xena didn't move away.

For a moment, they just sat watching the sun go down and the stars come out and listening to the sound of the waves and to their two hearts beating in unison.

'Let's not be apart again,' Gabrielle said so softly that the words were barely more than a change in the rhythm of her breathing. 'These last few weeks, even when you were right beside me, it felt like you'd never been further away.'

'I'm back now,' Xena reached out and took Gabrielle's small hand in hers, running her fingers over the surface of it, reacquainting herself with the feel of it. She felt a light pressure on her shoulder and looked down to see Gabrielle's head resting there.

'I'm sorry, sweetheart...' Xena whispered.

'For what? We've already talked about everything, well, sung about everything.'

'I tied you to the back of my horse and dragged you across half of Greece,' saying the words out loud made the actions seem all the more real and Xena felt self-hatred twist and burn deep within her.

'It was hardly half of Greece..'

'That's not the point,' tears were running freely down Xena's cheeks now. 'How could I have done that? How could I have hurt you? I love you.'

'And I love you. The person who hurt me wasn't you.'

'But...'

'I forgive you, Xena. And it's over now. I don't want to talk about that stuff anymore. Let's just be us again.'

'Ok...' But Xena couldn't stop crying. Gabrielle held her then and rocked her back and forth and then, so gently Xena almost didn't feel it, she kissed Xena's swollen eyelids as if, by doing so, she could kiss the tears and the sadness away.

Gabrielle pulled back and the air became heavy between them. They leant their foreheads together, tears still leaking from the corners of Xena's eyes, Xena's lips still quivering. Gabrielle placed a finger against them to still them and, without thinking, Xena kissed it. She looked up at Gabrielle for a moment and then their lips met.

Xena gasped into Gabrielle's mouth at the intensity of the contact. The world receded and all that was left was the sensation of Gabrielle's lips on hers, Gabrielle's tongue probing gently, seeking entry. Xena wanted nothing more than for the kiss to last forever, but her rational mind made her pull away. Now was not the time, not when the emotions between them were so raw.

Gabrielle was looking at her, confusion in her eyes. 'I thought you wanted...' she began.

'I do want...' And Xena had never meant anything more.

'Then why?'

'We can't, Gabrielle. Not now. We have to get used to being friends again first.'

'But I don't want to just be friends again.'

Their lips met once more and this time it was even harder to pull away.

'We can't, Gabrielle. One day, but not today.'

This time Gabrielle seemed to accept it. She kissed Xena once more, but the kiss was chaste this time. 'One day,' Gabrielle repeated. 'I'm going to hold you to that.'


	7. Chapter 7

_**Day 550 (after 'A Family Affair')**_

Lila didn't know what to think. The past few days had been wonderful; her sister had been home, Xena had been far away and everything had been back to normal. And then it turned out that her sister wasn't her sister and Xena was definitely not far away.

Now the real Gabrielle was back, but the strange thing was that, to Lila, the demon who'd taken her place had seemed more familiar. The Gabrielle sitting across from her at the dinner table was far more different from the sister she's grown up with. She even looked different; her face was leaner, all traces of puppy fat long gone and her new Amazon clothes were unfamiliar. Her eyes were harder somehow, older. Not that that was surprising. Lila couldn't even begin to imagine all the things her sister had been through. Gabrielle had been raped, given birth to a child who was really a demon and had watched her die. She'd seen gods and ridden with Hercules and she'd lost her blood innocence. No one was really explaining what that meant because some things were easier when left unspoken, but Lila had a fairly good idea. There were rumours that her sister had killed a man. The same sweet Gabrielle who used to cry at the idea of drowning a kitten had taken a knife and stabbed it deep into warm flesh.

Lila glanced up at this new sister and quickly glanced away again. She wanted things to go back to the way they were and she didn't know how to even begin to get there. Gabrielle was older now and far away. The sister she had loved so dearly was almost a stranger.

And then there was Xena. Tall, dark, brooding Xena. Lila hadn't dared to talk to her yet and she couldn't fathom why her sister would be friends with such a woman. Lila's gaze darted quickly to her father, wanting to see what he made of the situation, but his face, as always, was unreadable.

Sweet Gabrielle. Sweet, sweet Gabrielle. Herodotus found it hard to look at her now. The pain of an innocence lost hurt his heart. She had always been his favourite, he had always loved her beyond all reason, and he had always known that her path would not be an easy one.

'I'm not like other girls.' He'd heard her say it to Lila the night she left, long after she thought everyone else was asleep, but he had lain awake and listened to his darling, to his heart leaving perhaps forever with the beautiful warrior princess and it was out of love that he's let her go. She wasn't like the other girls. She never had been.

He remembered when she was small and she would race around the village with the boys. Lila had been happy to stay at home and learn weaving and cooking with the women, but not his impetuous, beautiful, lightning-quick Gabrielle. She was faster than the boys, stronger too, and she could talk her way out of anything because she was clever, cleverer than him. She loved to watch him write, so he taught her even though it was forbidden for girls to learn. He took her into the woods and together they traced out letters with a stick in the sand, her pudgy baby fingers clasped over his calloused old ones. She would bite her lip in concentration and he loved her all anew. Soon she was writing whole words, then sentences, then stories.

And what stories. The girl was a dreamer. The women of the village saw it as a weakness and spoke to her sharply, but not Herodotus. He loved to hear her stories, her wild tales of dragons and unicorns, of kings and monsters and princesses. And she would ask him such questions. She wanted to know everything about the world and he wanted to show it to her, but he didn't know how He'd never even been to Athens, let alone anywhere outside of Greece. As she grew older, she wandered further and further afield even as Lila stuck closer and closer to home. Time and again he wished that Gabrielle had been a son. Not because he wanted a son – he loved his golden-haired girl more than words could say – but because she didn't behave the way that girls were meant to behave and the village was suspicious of her for it.

And then the other thing had started. The boys Gabrielle had raced through the fields with all those years ago had grown tall and strong and had started to see her for the beauty that she was and they made their intentions clear. Gabrielle gently turned them down, one by one and, as Herodotus watched, she began to gaze longingly at Arete, the red-headed innkeeper's daughter, at Corinna who lived next door, at Hermione who'd just moved to Potideia from Thrace. She would cast lingering looks in their direction, get flustered when they spoke to her. Gabrielle herself didn't know what she was feeling, not yet, but Herodotus did and he grieved deep within his soul. He would have given anything to see her happy, would have gladly let her marry laughing Corinna or pretty Arete, but the rest of the world didn't see things that way. He's pushed her into an engagement with Perdicus, the son of his own closest friend, and one of her more persistent suitors. He'd hated himself for it, but he knew that it was for the best. The village might forgive a girl who raced through the fields with the boys, but it wouldn't forgive a girl who acted like the boys in other ways too. And Perdicus was a good man. She would grow to care for him, would find solace in children.

And then the warrior woman had come riding by and stolen Gabrielle's heart with a glance. All of a sudden, Herodotus had seen a way out for her; a way to love as she had been born to love, a way to travel the world and have adventures and tell stories and do and be all the things she wanted to do and be. And so, when she had slipped out of the house in the middle of the night, three long years ago, he had lain still and quiet and he had learned that loving someone sometimes means letting them go.

And now, here she was. His golden-haired girl sitting opposite him, her innocence gone, her demon child destroyed, and she was looking at him with eyes which desperately sought his approval. And next to her, dark and still and beautiful, was Xena who was clearly so much more than Gabrielle's best friend. And Herodotus longed to tell them how he felt, but he wasn't brave enough and he couldn't find the words.

The warrior woman stifled a yawn. Lila wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it. Tiredness was a weakness and surely Xena didn't have any of those.

'Sorry,' Xena muttered in that rich, deep voice of hers.

'It's ok, it's been a long day. I'm exhausted too.' As she spoke, Gabrielle laid a reassuring hand on Xena's arm, below the elbow and above the leather greaves, skin on skin. Gabrielle's thumb moved back and forth, gently caressing Xena's forearm. The action was familiar and practiced, as if Gabrielle was used to touching and being touched, as if such closeness was usual.

Xena, for her part, flinched a little at the contact and a deep blush dyed her cheeks red as she looked across the table at Lila and Gabrielle's parents, Herodotus and Hecuba. Gabrielle was watching them too, her hand still on Xena's arm, an expression of defiance on her face. Their mother was looking away, blushing just as deeply crimson, while their father matched Gabrielle stare for stare. Lila looked back and forth between them, knowing that something was happening which she didn't understand.

'Maybe we should go to bed, Gabby?' Lila wanted desperately to get her sister alone in their bedroom, wanted the chance to talk to her properly, to try to comprehend this stranger who had once been as familiar to her as her own reflection.

At Lila's suggestion, all the others around the table became visibly flustered. Gabrielle was the first to speak. 'Maybe we should leave tonight, Xena? Beat all the traffic for the market in the morning?' Herodotus seemed pleased by this suggestion, but Hecuba and Xena both wouldn't hear of it. Gabrielle had been through a lot, they said, she was tired, she needed to sleep in a bed.

Hecuba took a deep breath and then, without looking at either of her daughters or her husband, said 'Maybe Lila should sleep in our room, Herodotus. Then we can put Xena in Gabrielle's room.'

Lila wanted to protest, but couldn't think of a reason why she should share with Gabrielle which wouldn't sound selfish. Xena though wasn't too keen on that plan either. 'I'll sleep in the barn with Argo,' she said. 'Then Lila doesn't have to move.'

'You don't need to do that.' There was a tone in Gabrielle's voice which Lila had never heard before. It was adult, intimate even, and she wasn't sure she liked it.

'Yes she does.' This was from Herodotus. 'Gabrielle will share with Lila like she always has and Xena,' he seemed to choke out the name 'will sleep outside. We'll give her some blankets and the straw is soft.'

'Father...' Gabrielle was half-standing, eyes angry and flashing.

'Don't, Sweetheart...' Xena's voice was so soft, Lila could barely hear her. 'I really don't mind sleeping in the barn.' Sweetheart? Who called their friend 'sweetheart'?

In one swift movement, Xena had stood and made her way outside. Gabrielle stayed where she was for just long enough to glare at her father and then she stormed off in the direction of their bedroom. Lila looked from one parent to the other and recognised all the signs of an impending argument. Hastily, she followed her sister into the bedroom.

Once inside, Gabrielle wouldn't speak to her or at least, not properly. She answered Lila's questions in monosyllables and lay down on her bed feigning sleep. Eventually, Lila gave up and lay down on her own bed, staring up at the ceiling and listening to the rhythm of Gabrielle's breathing. Their beds were so close that, if Lila reached out, she would be able to touch her sister's hand, but Lila didn't reach out. Gabrielle had never felt further away.

'I love you,' Gabrielle's words were almost inaudible in the darkness.

'Love you too,' Lila whispered back and meant it.

'I didn't want you to think I didn't because I left. That had nothing to do with you. I had to leave.'

'I know,' Lila paused and then added. 'You've never been like me, have you?'

'What do you mean?' Gabrielle had propped herself up on one elbow and was staring at Lila through the darkness.

'You've never been content to just stay here and settle down. Part of me wishes you had stayed here and married Perdicus, but that's the selfish part of me. You never would have been happy with that.'

'No, I never would.'

'And now? Are you happy now? Travelling around, I mean, and righting wrongs and things.'

'I'm beyond happy.'

'Even after the demon and Hope?'

'Even after that.'

'But why?'

Gabrielle lay back down and turned onto her back so she didn't have to look at Lila before she answered. 'Because Xena makes me happy.'

Lila turned away too and thought about this for a moment. There was so much now about her sister which she couldn't begin to understand. 'Why did she call you sweetheart earlier?'

Gabrielle didn't answer. Instead, she stood and walked towards the door. 'I'm sorry, Lila,' she said. 'I can't let her sleep in the barn all alone.'

'What are you going to do?'

'I'm going to join her.' And with that, Gabrielle stepped through the door and let it swing closed behind her.

Herodotus heard her leave. There was a creaky floorboard by the door which Gabrielle had clearly forgotten about since leaving home because she trod on it as she went outside. He heard her pause for a moment, listening to see if she'd woken anyone and then she was moving again, through the door and into the darkness outside. He heard her footsteps across the dark lawn and then the clang as the barn door slammed shut behind her.

Then he lay there for a long time, very still, just listening, although he didn't want to think about what he was listening for. He knew that he should just stay where he was. There was nothing to be gained by going after her. It would be better if he could just convince himself that she'd gone for a night time stroll. And yet, despite knowing this, he was swinging his legs out of bed before he quite realised what was happening. He wrapped a coat around himself and, taking care not to wake Hecuba, he too made his way outside and into the darkness.

He paused outside the barn, knowing that what he was doing was not wise. If Gabrielle saw him, he would never be able to explain, never be able to convince her that he approved, but the village did not. It was better, far better, if she thought he disapproved too, if she stayed away because of it. That way, the only pain would be his. He took two steps back in the direction he'd come from and then paused again. He had to know. With shaking hands and a thumping heart, he made his way back to the barn and peered in through a knot hole in the wall.

The warrior woman had made a fire in the corner and its slowly dying flames lit the inside with a faint orange glow like sunset on the last night of the world. In the opposite corner, the pale gold mare was lying on her side, snorting softly in her sleep. Around her, the warrior's armour was strewn haphazardly across the hay; a breastplate here, a pair of leather greaves there. Her saddlebags were open and, inside them, he could see a dagger and, pressed against it in a manner which seemed almost intimate, a quill and a scroll belonging to his daughter.

Xena herself slumbered near the horse, clad only in a shift and looking surprisingly young and innocent in sleep. She was on her back and, nestled into her shoulder, was Gabrielle.

He stood and stared. Gabrielle was smiling, her golden hair spilling across Xena's chest. Gabrielle's right hand was flat on Xena's stomach, while Xena's own hand gently caressed it. The warrior's other arm was around Gabrielle's waist, completely encircling her, and Xena's cheek rested on top of Gabrielle's head. For a moment, Herodotus' heart soared to see them. His daughter, the one he loved above all others, looked so impossibly happy and so impossibly in love. He wished with all his being that she could stay that way, that others would be able to accept her, even as he knew that they would not, and that knowledge broke his very soul in two.

He heard a sound beside him and saw Lila staring at the lovers in the barn, the strangest expression on her face.

Lila looked at the scene in wonder and disbelief. Her sister was curled up on the warrior woman's chest, their bodies intertwined. Lila looked at her father beside her and couldn't read his expression at all.

'Go back to bed, Lila,' he said.

'But Daddy...'

'Go back to bed.'

She didn't move. Instead, she stared into the barn once more. There was an expression on Gabrielle's face which she'd never seen before.

'She looks happy,' she said more to herself than to Herdotus.

'She is.' If she hadn't known better, she would have thought that she heard a hint of tears in her father's voice.

'I don't understand,' Lila whispered. Gabrielle and Xena were tangled together like lovers, but they couldn't be lovers. Two women couldn't be lovers. That was impossible.

Herodotus looked at his younger daughter properly now and this time she was almost certain that there were tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. 'Your sister has been given a difficult path to tread, Lila, far more difficult than my path or yours.'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean that there are unwritten, unspoken laws about who you can love and how. Your sister has broken them through no fault of her own. This was her fate, the way she was born. She can no more change that than change who her parents are and I wouldn't want her to change it even if she could.'

'But why not? Surely, if it would make her life easier...'

'Just because a path is easy, it doesn't mean it's good. Changing this about Gabrielle would change who she is and I could never want that. I love her too much. She's everything I always wanted to be. She's bold, she's courageous, she's been places and done things you and I can only dream of and, above all, she's won the heart of the mighty warrior princess.' His voice cracked again. 'Now that's an achievement worthy of song.'

'Won Xena's heart?' Lila still didn't understand.

'That's right.'

'You mean...?' Lila let the question hang in the air, unfinished.

'Yes, Lila?'

'Like Sappho?'

'Exactly like Sappho.'

'But I thought that was just a story.'

'A true story.'

'But isn't that...wrong?'

'Does it look wrong to you?'

Lila followed her father's gaze back to the couple sleeping peacefully on the floor of the barn. 'No,' she said. 'It looks right.'

Herodotus placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. 'And so it is, Lila. I just wish the rest of the world would see it that way. I wish I could welcome Xena into my house as a daughter-in-law, not make her sleep in the barn like a stranger she that the world won't judge them for being who they are.'

Lila went back inside and back to bed, still a little off-kilter from her new found knowledge of her sister. Herodotus stayed where he was. He sat down on the wall surrounding the barn and settled in for the night, intending to keep watch over the sleeping pair in case any night-time wanderers should happen to glance in through the barn window. In Athens, such relationships were commonplace, even across the river in Amphipolis, they wouldn't cause comment, but here in Potideia, values were still very much of the traditional sort.

He must have drifted off into a dose because the next thing he was aware of was the faint light of dawn and a soft footfall on the grass nearby. He opened his eyes and saw Xena standing just in front of him.

'She's still asleep,' Xena said in response to his unspoken question.

'I should probably get back to the house.' The last thing he wanted was for Gabrielle or anyone else to find him here.

'I won't tell her I saw you.'

'Thanks,' he knew he should talk to Gabrielle the way he had talked to Lila, but he couldn't. He couldn't risk her coming back home too often, couldn't risk anyone finding out about her and Xena.

'And thank you,' Xena was saying. 'For keeping watch, I mean.'

'It was nothing.' There was a pause filled with words which they were both too afraid to speak aloud.

'Do you love her?' he asked then, all in a rush. It was really none of his business, but he had to know all the same.

'Beyond words,' Xena said, sincerity in her eyes. She came and sat beside him and he was struck by her sheer physicality. She radiated strength. 'We're not lovers though.'

'You're not? But I saw...'

'You saw everything. All of what we do. It doesn't go further than hugging.'

'But...?'

'Oh, Gabrielle wants it to go much further and so do I.'

'Then why don't you?'

'Because I don't want to hurt her. If we were lovers and something happened to me she wouldn't be able to stand it. And she'd be a target for my enemies...'

'I think she already is a target for your enemies.' He said it as gently as he could.

Xena looked down at the ground. 'I'd worry I was taking advantage of her. I'm not good for her. It would be better for everyone if she found some nice boy to settle down with.'

'No it wouldn't.' She looked at him in surprise and he was just as surprised as she was that he'd said it out loud. 'I've seen the way she looks at you and the way you look at her. That's true love.'

'She's my soulmate,' Xena said quietly.

'She is and I'm proud of her for winning the heart of the warrior princess.'

'But I thought you didn't approve of me...'

'I approve of you. I approve of you because I love Gabrielle more than anything in the world and you make her happy and I approve of you because I like you. It's this town which wouldn't approve of you.

'Hence the making me sleep in the barn and then keeping watch last night.'

'Exactly. This town has an ugly side which Gabrielle doesn't know about and which I don't want her to know about.'

'Then we should go.'

'Yes, you should, but know that you go with my blessing and my wholehearted approval.'

'Thank you.' Xena didn't say more but she clasped his hand in both of hers for a moment and that touch said more than a thousand words. Then she stood and returned to the barn to wake Gabrielle.

Herodotus watched her, a wistful smile on his face. The selfish part of him wanted to keep Gabrielle at home and close by, but the better part of him knew that that was not her destiny. Her destiny was by the side of the mighty warrior princess.


	8. Chapter 8

**Day 602: After **_**Between the Lines**_

To an observer on the horizon, the two of them would have made a lonely picture – the smaller woman was in front, head down, yellow sari and short blond hair blowing in the wind. The other woman was ten paces behind, wrapped up in a dark coat made of fur and feathers and leading a weary looking palomino mare. The path they trudged along was barely a metre wide and would its way along the sharp spine of a mountain range. On either side was a sheer drop of thousands of metres. They were above the clouds here, atop the Himalayas, the tallest mountains in the world. Below them was a sea of white mist and, to either side, taller peaks rose to jagged, ice-capped summits. There was no one else in sight and the two of them had been walking since morning.

They were going home. Each step took them further from India and closer to Greece and, in truth, Xena was glad. India had been important for Gabrielle and a necessary step for them both, but she was relieved it was over. The trip had given her far too much to think about, especially the meeting with her own reincarnated self. And Gabrielle's. And the knowledge that the two of them would find each other again and again and again. Truthfully, her mind was still reeling from that particular revelation. Sure, she was in love with Gabrielle, she'd known that for years, but to know that it was fated, now that was knowledge of an entirely different kind. She'd always wondered what her destiny would be, but she'd never imagined that it would arrive in the shape of a small, blond girl from Potideia.

She studied Gabrielle as she walked behind her. A lot had changed since those early days – Gabrielle seemed taller and her back was lean and muscled without a hint of puppy fat. It was criss-crossed with faint scars from some of their more recent battles and Xena felt waves of self-loathing as she looked at them. She was responsible for each one. If it wasn't for her, Gabrielle would be safe in Potideia, would be a wife by now, probably a mother too. She'd have a home. Most of Xena was ashamed of taking that life from Gabrielle, but a tiny, selfish part of her refused to be because life without Gabrielle was unthinkable.

Gabrielle was setting a brisk pace. That was something that had changed too. Gone was the little girl who would dawdle and get out of breath at the slightest exertion. This new grown-up Gabrielle could walk all day and all night without stopping. It was freezing up here at the top of the world and yet, it was Xena who was wrapped up in a coat.

Every now and then, Gabrielle would glance back over her shoulder at Xena, her expression unreadable. The path was too narrow for them to walk side by side and the wind was too loud to talk and, for once, Xena was not feeling comfortable with the silence. She needed to know what Gabrielle was feeling about Eli, about finding her way, about being soulmates with a beat-up, good for nothing ex-warlord. What if Gabrielle hated her for it? What if she felt trapped by destiny?

Up ahead, Gabrielle had stopped at a bend in the path and was peering down the mountain. 'There's a cave!' she yelled back to Xena. 'Should we stop for a while?'

Xena shouted her agreement and the two of them dragged their possessions down a short slope and in through a small opening in the rock. Xena felt a pang of guilt that the cave was too small for Argo to follow them in, but, at least, the area outside was comparatively sheltered and the horse was getting a much needed rest.

Once inside, the cave turned out to be even smaller than they'd originally thought. Gabrielle couldn't stand up without banging her head and Xena had to bend double. Shivering, and with much knocking into cave walls, the pair of them scrabbled around in their saddle bags until they pulled out their sleeping furs. By an unspoken agreement, they huddled together with both sets of furs wound tightly around them. They sat, propped up against the cave wall, teeth chattering and shoulders touching. There was so much to say that Xena realised she didn't know where to start.

Luckily, Gabrielle did. She was always better with words. 'Can I tell you a story?' she asked.

'Sure,' Xena knew that Gabrielle was going somewhere with this, but she wasn't sure where.

'I told it to Iolaus once, that time we met Prometheus, but he was the wrong person to tell it to.'

Iolaus. Hercules. Prometheus. Those days of waking titans and fighting giants seemed so carefree now. 'What was the story?' Xena asked.

'A long time ago,' Gabrielle said as her voice took on its distinctive storytelling cadence. 'Humans all had two heads and four arms and four legs, but then they grew too strong, so the gods cast down thunderbolts and split each person in two. Now each of them had one head and two arms and two legs, but only half a soul. And each one of us is doomed to wander the Earth until we meet the person who has the other half of our soul. Only then will we find true happiness.' Gabrielle paused and looked up at Xena, her eyes shining.

'That's a beautiful story,' Xena said.

'It is now I've found the right person to tell it to.'

'So you believe that we are...soulmates?' Now that the word had been said aloud, it hung in the air between them, shimmering.

'Yes,' Gabrielle said quietly 'I've known it for a long time.'

'Me too,' Xena replied.

The two of them sat very still, neither wanting to be the first to move. Xena's heart was racing and she could feel a hot flush creeping across her skin. Did soulmates equal lovers? That was a question she didn't know how to answer. And she didn't want to do anything which would scare Gabrielle. Besides, she was scared herself. She still didn't know if she could take that step, still felt on some level that Gabrielle would be better off with a platonic soulmate and a lover on the side.

'Are you happy?' Xena asked, not knowing what she was going to say before she said it. 'About the whole soulmate thing, I mean.'

'Beyond happy,' was the reply. 'And you?' And now there was a vulnerability in the green eyes which Xena had never seen before.

'Also beyond happy,' Xena replied with a smile. On an impulse, she slipped an arm around Gabrielle's shoulders and pulled her close. Gabrielle came willingly, tucking her head under Xena's chin.

'I'm not going to leave you know,' Gabrielle's voice was so soft it was just a murmur.

'What do you mean?'

'I mean I'm not going to leave you for some village boy and go off and get married and have babies. I know you worry about that.'

'You can leave if you want to... I wouldn't stop you doing anything you wanted to do.'

'I don't want to, Xena. I never have and I never will.'

'But you'd be a wonderful mother...'

Gabrielle snuggled closer. 'I have a feeling that one of us will have a baby some day.'

'That might be difficult if there aren't any men involved...'

Gabrielle laughed. 'Like I said, it's just a feeling. And you're the great warrior princess. You can do anything.'

'Is your gift of prophecy kicking in again?' Xena's tone was teasing.

'Maybe...Maybe we'll adopt or something...'

'Maybe...Gabrielle?'

'Yes?'

'We're not...' Xena's voice trailed off.

'I don;t know what we are, but I do know that I couldn't ever love anyone else.'

'Me neither.'

Gabrielle pulled back slightly so that she was looking at Xena properly and then, all of a sudden, she was very close, their faces just millimetres apart. It would be so easy to kiss her and she wanted to be kissed, but Xena still couldn't do it, still felt like it would hurt Gabrielle somehow. She turned her face away.

'Don;t you want to?' Gabrielle suddenly sounded very young.

'I really do, but I'm just not ready...I'm sorry...'

'I know you won;t hurt me if that's what you're afraid of.'

'It's part of it. We'll get there...in time...just not today...'

Gabrielle seemed to accept this. 'Then I'll wait,' she said. 'For as long as you need me to.'


	9. Chapter 9

**Day 638: After '**_**Takes One to Know One'**_

Cyrene didn't know what to make of any of it. This kind of uncertainty was out of character for her. Usually, she prided herself on an intuitive understanding of people and an ability to unravel the complexities of others' feelings and relationships. In particular, her daughter had always been like an open book to her. Xena had never been any good at subtlety, she'd never been able to conceal anything no matter how hard she tried, but this time it was different. This time, Xena was being positively enigmatic. And as for the girl, Gabrielle, Cyrene didn't know what to make of her at all.

Cyrene slowly wiped down the bar with a cloth which had seen better days, all the while keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the two of them. They were sat on the other side of the room, saying goodbye to Lila, Minya and Joxer who were leaving on the next coach out of town. Joxer's eyes were focused on Gabrielle – his feelings were clear for all to see, but, just as clear, was the fact that Gabrielle didn't return them. She barely looked at him at all. Oh, she liked him well enough as a friend, but nothing more than that. She wasn't really looking at Xena either, but she was leaning towards her, their shoulders almost touching. Xena's arm rested casually along the back of Gabrielle's chair, again not touching her, but there was something possessive in the gesture, proprietorial almost.

Perhaps Gabrielle was a body slave. It wasn't the first time Cyrene had had that thought and keeping a body slave wouldn't have been out of character for Xena at one time. Although, if Gabrielle was a slave, she was certainly the most talkative slave in Greece. And the slave theory didn't really work with the idea of a Xena who had renounced her warlord past.

Gabrielle said something then which made Xena laugh. Cyrene watched in amazement as her daughter's face transformed and her eyes were filled with playfulness and something else which Cyrene had never seen there before. All at once, Xena wasn't the fearsome warrior princess. She looked like a young girl. More than that, she looked like a young girl in love.

Cyrene's hands froze. The cloth stopped mid-wipe, and she looked at Xena and Gabrielle with new eyes. Gabrielle's hand had found its way to Xena's arm and was resting there. Xena, for her part, had flushed red at the skin on skin contact and was openly staring at Gabrielle as she spoke, letting her eyes wander over the younger woman. They were sitting even closer together now, only a breath between them.

Slowly, Cyrene resumed cleaning the bar, but kept her gaze on her daughter, wondering all the while. She'd known about her daughter's preferences for years, even before Xena herself was aware of them. There had been flings with boys, rumours of betrothals, but Cyrene had always known that the boys were a momentary distraction to Xena; all of her meaningful relationships had been with other girls and the first time she'd fallen in love had been when she'd met that woman from Chin, the one whose son was called the Green Dragon. But, even then, Cyrene had never seen Xena look quite like this. She'd never looked vulnerable before.

'Everything alright, Mum?' Xena asked, coming over to the bar. Joxer, Minya and Lila were making their way towards the coach outside and Gabrielle was following them, still saying her goodbyes.

Cyrene searched for something to say. Asking Xena about her feelings directly never worked. Even as a child she would become suddenly stoic in the face of such an inquiry. Cyrene decided to go for a more roundabout approach. 'That boy's in love with her,' she said, gesturing to Joxer and Gabrielle.

'Joxer?' Xena laughed. 'Yeah, he's got it bad.'

Cyrene watched her reaction closely; she didn't look jealous, but then Joxer was hardly competition. 'I take it she doesn't feel the same way?'

Xena laughed again. 'Definitely not. I feel a bit sorry for him actually.'

Before Cyrene could pursue it further, Gabrielle came over to them and leaned on the bar. One of her hands came to rest casually on the small of Xena's back and Cyrene watched, amazed, as Xena's expression completely changed; she looked as though she was a cat about to start purring.

Gabrielle was smiling up at Cyrene. 'Thank you for letting us stay tonight.'

'Anytime. You're family.' She tried to emphasize the word 'family', but neither of them seemed to pick up on the significance of it.

'We'll clear up the kitchen for you,' Xena said and, just like that, they were gone, leaving Cyrene with a new dilemma; if Gabrielle was staying, where would she sleep?

Cyrene watched the pair of them all night. Xena's eyes followed Gabrielle constantly, always checking up on her, making sure she was okay. And Gabrielle would periodically return to Xena's side and place a gentle hand on her waist or her arm or her shoulder as if she drew strength and comfort from the touch. Soon though, Cyrene began to see something else; there was a longing in Xena's eyes, a sadness in Gabrielle's, some part of themselves they were still keeping back from one another. They were in love, that much was clear, but were they lovers? And how on earth could she find out discretely?

She sent Hermione, one of the serving girls, to make up Xena's room and she told her to put two pillows on the bed. Then, five minutes later, she sent Hermione upstairs again to make up a guest room for Gabrielle, just in case.

As it grew later, the tavern's customers stopped eating and began dancing. Gabrielle joined them, her nimble feet quickly picking up unfamiliar dance steps. She moved with a wonderful fluidity and grace. Cyrene was captivated, but Xena was positively mesmerised. She sat on a bar stool, her eyes never leaving her companion.

Then, to Cyrene's amazement, Gabrielle pulled Xena to her feet and dragged her out into the middle of the dance floor. What was even more amazing was the fact that Xena came willingly, eagerly almost. Xena didn't dance, she never had, and yet, there she was. She didn't share Gabrielle's natural grace or sense of rhythm, but she certainly seemed to be enjoying herself. Cyrene found herself smiling too as she watched the pair of them. World-weary Xena looked young, carefree, playful. Now that was definitely a word which she had never thought would be applied to Xena.

The music changed, becoming slower, more romantic. For a moment, Xena and Gabrielle looked unsure of themselves and Xena began to move away, towards the edges of the room. Then Gabrielle lightly touched Xena's arm and said something to her, very softly, which made her grin widely. Xena placed a hand on either side of Gabrielle's waist and pulled her close. The younger woman wrapped her arms around Xena's neck and their bodies pressed together as they began to sway gently in time to the music.

And that was when Cyrene turned away. To watch them for any longer would have been to intrude on a moment which seemed so very intimate. Besides, her questions had been answered. She softly called Hermione over and told her that the guest room would no longer be needed.

When there was a pause in the music, Xena came back to the bar for another mug of ale. Her skin was flushed and glowing and Gabrielle's scent seemed to cling to her like fairy dust.

'So...' Cyrene said, thinking it was safe to ask Xena directly about her feelings now that she had clearly stopped trying to hide her relationship. 'How long have you and the lovely Gabrielle been lovers?'

Xena choked on her mug of ale, her face glowing a deep shade of crimson 'We're not.' She said, shortly and turned her face away.

'But that dance...?'

'I said, we're not.' And this time her voice broke a little. She drained her mug and stalked back over to Gabrielle.

Bemused, Cyrene told a slightly annoyed looking Hermione that they would be needing the guest room after all.

In the morning, Cyrene woke early and made her way to Xena's room, hoping to have a few minutes alone with her daughter before the rest of the world awoke. In the manner of parents everywhere, she pushed open the door without knocking and then immediately wished that she had knocked because Xena was most definitely not alone; curled up beside her with her head on her shoulder was the small blond figure of Gabrielle. Cyrene began to move quietly backwards, hoping she could leave without waking them, but she had no such luck. Gabrielle was sound asleep, but Xena's eyes had opened.

'Mum...' she began, her voice full of embarrassment.

Cyrene placed a finger to her own lips. 'Shhh, darling. Don't wake Gabrielle.'

'But Mum...'

'It's okay, love. We'll talk later. Just go back to sleep now.'

Cyrene left the room as fast as was humanly possible. Beneath her embarrassment, a bubble of happiness was rising inside her chest. Since Gabrielle had come into Xena's life, there had been such a change in her daughter – Gabrielle had been like a balm to her, a cool cloth to wipe away the spreading stain over Xena's soul. The thought of the two of them together was everything Cyrene could wish for.

She made her way downstairs, thinking about Xena's former lovers. Borias had been the first who'd stuck around for any length of time, but their time together had been a meeting of violence with violence. Borias had pulled Xena further into darkness even as he himself had slowed clawed his way back to the light. Then there had been rumours that Xena had loved Caesar himself and then the woman from Chin. Gabrielle was so wonderfully different from all of them. She didn't rule over a nation, she had no army, no lust for power. She was a peasant girl from across the river in Potideia and perhaps that was why she could love with such purity; all that was involved was love, not the fates of empires or the power of warlords.

Cyrene heard footsteps behind her and turned to find a very sheepish looking Xena standing on the stairs. Truthfully, she had never looked less like a mighty warrior princess. She was clad in a cotton shift with bare feet and an old blanket draped across her shoulders for warmth and there was an air of utter defeat about her.

'Xena, love, everything's okay,' Cyrene said, drawing her daughter into a hug. 'I understand that you didn't tell me last night because you were embarrassed, but now I know and I'm happy for you. And I'm proud to have Gabrielle as a daughter-in-law.'

But, to her surprise, Xena was shaking. She pulled back until she could see her face and there was a look of such impossible sadness in Xena's eyes that it made Cyrene's heart hurt. 'Xena, what's wrong?'

Xena moved away from her to sit on one of the bar stools, shoulders slumped, chin in her hands.

'I didn't lie to you last night,' she said.

'It's fine if you did, Xena. I understand that you might not want to talk about you sex life to your mother.'

'I don;t have a sex life to talk about.'

'I saw...'

'We're not lovers.' And there was a tone of such resignation in Xena's voice that Cyrene didn't doubt her for a moment. She sat down next to her daughter and put a gentle hand on her back. 'Doesn't she want that?' she asked. There was no need to ask what Xena wanted because that was obvious for all the world to see.

'She does and so do I, but I can't let it happen. She deserves so much more.

Cyrene withdrew the comforting hand and stared. 'Xena, stop being such a matyr. You did some bad things and now you're sorry and you want to punish yourself. I get that, but stop being so self-indulgent.'

'Self-indulgent?! Sleeping with her would be self-indulgent. This...'

'You always have to be so damn pure! It's always all or nothing with you! You're either totally bad or totally good, but the world doesn't work like that! She wants this and you want this and maybe not being with her is hurting her more than it's hurting you! Maybe you're doing this because on some level you enjoy punishing yourself - that's the self-indulgent part!'

Xena was on her feet now, towering over her mother. Cyrene remained seated, refusing to be intimidated. 'You don't understand, mother! You can't! She deserves to be with a good man, to have a safe home, to have a baby! I can't give her any of that!'

'She's an Amazon. She doesn't need a man or want a man anymore than you do. And you could give her a safe home if you wanted to. Anyway, how do you know she wants those things? Maybe they're just what you think she should want.'

'Of course those things are what she wants!'

'Have you asked her?!'

There was a pause then as the two women glared at one another. Xena looked away first. Then, very quietly, she said 'We'll leave as soon as Gabrielle wakes up.' And, with that, she stalked off back up the stairs.

A single tear made its way down Cyrene's cheek. 'Xena,' she whispered. 'I just want you to be happy. Why can't you just let yourself be happy?'


	10. Chapter 10

Up here, at the top of the world, high above the clouds, was where the gods played games with the fates of men. The floor of the Sky Chamber was covered with a brightly-painted map and on it, like swarms of locusts, moved the people and the creatures of the earth. To human eyes, all the movement looked alike – black, indistinct dots meandering hither and thither, but the eyes of the gods are curious things. The gods could focus in on one dot, isolate it, magnify it and view, in glorious technicolour, the life it concealed. They could see all the glittering paths of possibility spread out before it, all the possible futures and timelines coalescing into one shimmering whole. And the favourite game of the gods was to wager on which path would become reality.

'I'll bet ten sacrificial virgins that Hercules defeats the sea monster at Thebes,' Ares' booming voice cut across the Sky Chamber.

His sister, Athena, laughed as she reclined on the other side of the great map. 'If you do, it's a waste of virgins. Hercules will go to Athens and defeat the giant.'

Both the gods focused their attention on a dot which appeared to be hesitating at a crossroads. Gradually the dot grew and moulded itself into the golden-haired muscular shape that was Hercules. He glanced around him for a moment and then picked a direction and set off at a run.

'Athens it is!' Athena smirked across the map at Ares who slammed down his tankard of ale and glared at her.

In the corner, Aphrodite wished they'd both be quiet. She had little interest in the game. She wasn't really one to passively watch mortals. Besides she hated Mount Olympus with its stuffy rules and old-fashioned rituals. Aphrodite's idea of fun involved beach parties and scantily clad worshippers, not games of chance in drafty hallways.

And it really was drafty up here. The mountain was so high that, even on the warmest of summer days, there was always a hint of snow in the air. Sometimes, if you were very lucky, the snow melted and turned into a kind of perpetual torrential rain. Of course, Ares and Athena and the rest were fine with the rain and snow; they prided themselves on being tough, able to withstand anything. Aphrodite prided herself on having good hair, something which was almost impossible to achieve in the constant damp of the sky chambers. And her outfits were really not built for snow.

'You really should invest in a coat.' Aphrodite looked up to see that Hermes had sat down next to her. Well, hovered really; his feet had hardly touched the ground since he's been given that ridiculous flying helmet. Aphrodite could see the appeal of flying, but she also wouldn't be caught dead in a helmet which made you look as though you'd head-butted a golden tortoise. His sandals though were a different matter. They were a delicate shade of gold with tiny, gossamer thin wings attached to either side. They were the kind of shoes Aphrodite would do pretty much anything to own. Which was why she was here.

'I'm not cold,' Aphrodite tried not to shiver too obviously as she pulled her thin gauzy robe more tightly around her.

'Sure and Odysseus took a slight detour on the way home from Troy.'

Aphrodite decided to ignore his sarcasm. 'Why did you have to take so long to get up here, Hermes? We were meant to meet hours ago. I could have been checking my temples for scrummy offerings instead of watching those two,' and here she gestured at Ares and Athena 'pose.'

Hermes was looking her up and down with what he hoped was a suggestive expression on his face. It wasn't. 'Maybe I should have got here earlier, 'Dite. We could have spent some quality time together…'

'Not a chance.'

Hermes looked deflated. 'Well, if you didn't ask me here to flirt with me, I'm going back to Greece.'

'Wait. I have a proposition for you. You have something I want.'

'What could I possibly have that you'd want?'

Aphrodite looked a little embarrassed. 'Your sandals,' she muttered.

'My sandals!' She could see Hermes trying not to laugh. 'You called me all the way up here to ask if you could have my shoes.'

'They're just so cute. And they'd go really well with this bag I bought in Crete.'

Hermes was grinning properly now, mischief in his eyes. 'Well, I don't know 'Dite...I'm very attached to these sandals. You're going to have to work for them.'

'Fine,' Aphrodite said. 'If Hercules can do the whole twelve labours thing just to please Hera then I'm sure I can do anything you ask me to for those sandals.'

'Alright...'Hermes said and thought for a second. 'This should be in your area of expertise.'

Taking her arm, Hermes moved towards the map and pointed at Greece. Just to the left of Hercules were three black dots who seemed to have paused by a waterfall.

'Do you see them?' Hermes asked.

Aphrodite narrowed her eyes slightly and brought the dots into sharper focus. One took the form of a palomino horse, the other two became women, one tall, one short, one blond, one dark. The blond one was scratching away at a scroll with a quill, while the other sat with her back against a tree, polishing a sword.

'Gabrielle and the warrior babe,' said Aphrodite. 'My favourite girl group.' She turned to face Hermes and he was surprised to see a certain steel in her gaze. 'I'm not hurting them.'

'I don't want you to hurt them. Quite the opposite in fact. I want you to spread the love.' Hermes let his gaze linger suggestively on the images of Xena and Gabrielle.

'No need,' said Aphrodite. 'They're already feeling it.'

'Feeling it, yes. Doing anything about it, no.'

'You mean…' She concentrated on the pair of them for a moment and found he was right. 'But they're so perfect together.'

'And Xena's so stubborn.' Hermes was grinning again. 'Impossibly stubborn in fact. If you get them together without using any god stuff or getting Cupid to use any god stuff then you can have my sandals. That's definitely as difficult as any of Herc's labours. And we both get to have the rosy glow that comes from helping mortals. I'm bored of all this destroying things nonsense – let's do something nice for a change'

Aphrodite was torn for a moment; Xena really was stubborn, but, on the other hand, she really did love those sandals. And, more than that, she felt like she had something to prove. The other Olympians never seemed to take her seriously. 'Fine,' she said. 'Challenge accepted.'


	11. Chapter 11

It was early morning on the island of Lesbos. The sun was rising over the Aegean, tinting the waves a pearly silver. There was a slight chill in the air, thanks to the earliness of the hour, but it would be gone by mid-morning. In the middle of the island was a wooded glade at the foot of a mountain. A waterfall tumbled down into it, water pouring over mountain rocks in crystal rivulets. The slopes of the mountain and the floor of the forest were purple and blue with wildflowers, in the trees were songbirds and, in the stream were darting golden fish. It was a place where even an immortal visitor might pause to gaze in wonder and delight.

Or at least most immortal visitors. Aphrodite had never been a fan of the great outdoors. She was standing, invisible to mortal eyes, by the side of the waterfall, shivering in the breeze and glaring angrily at a nearby rabbit which she'd just tripped over. There was mud on the hem of her skirt and droplets of water were beading in her hair. What she wanted was to find the nearest warm temple and party with some worshippers for a few hours, but she knew she couldn't. She was on a mission and she was here to observe Gabby and her warrior friend.

Xena woke first. There was nothing unusual in that. Xena always woke first. She heard the chattering of the waterfall behind her and Gabrielle's steady breathing in front of her. She was on her side, Gabrielle's back pressed into her front and she had one arm draped across Gabrielle's waist. They were sleeping like this almost every night now. Xena knew it was strange, knew that they had entered some bizarre, semi-platonic, semi-not territory, and, she knew that, sooner or later, they would have to choose, to become entirely platonic or entirely not, but, for now, she tried not to think about it too much. For now, she just wanted to enjoy the closeness of Gabrielle, the calm serenity of her soulmate as she slept.

Xena kissed the top of the blond head and then lay still, the rhythm of her breathing matching Gabrielle's. Every morning, she was amazed anew at the comfort simple closeness could bring, how wonderful it could feel just to hold and be held. She felt a stirring in front of her, a certain tenseness start to creep into Gabrielle's muscles as the younger woman began to wake up. With little snuffling sighs, Gabrielle rolled over, pushing Xena onto her back. Then Gabrielle settled her head onto Xena's shoulder and snuggled closer. Xena smiled, stroking soft blond hair.

'It's a beautiful morning,' she whispered.

'It's an early morning,' Gabrielle mumbled, barely awake.

'The sunrise is lovely.'

'Don't like sun.' Gabrielle had turned her face fully into Xena's shoulder. One thing they never agreed on was mornings. Xena was a morning person, Gabrielle was not and nothing in the world was likely to change that. Not that Xena minded Gabrielle's grumpiness in the mornings. Instead, she found it rather adorable. Xena smiled to herself, fully aware of how pathetic that was.

She gave up on conversation and attempted to ease her shoulder out from underneath Gabrielle's head, thinking that she might as well go and start breakfast. Gabrielle was never much use for anything until after she'd eaten. Gabrielle though wasn't giving up her pillow that easily. She pressed her head more firmly into Xena's shoulder and clamped one hand, vice-like, around Xena's arm. Her grip was like iron. _When did you get so strong?_ Xena thought to herself as she settled down on the ground again, resigned to at least another hour of holding Gabrielle while she slept, secretly pleased to do so.

Aphrodite watched in amazement. When had the mighty warrior princess become so...soft? No wonder Ares didn't hang around her so much anymore. He wasn't really her patron god now, not really. It seemed she'd moved on.

'I think you might be mine now,' Aphrodite whispered as she moved closer to the pair on the ground. She paused for a moment, just letting herself feel and there it was – love, plain and simple – and it suffused both of them, filled them completely. Cautiously, Aphrodite bent down and placed the palm of one hand flat against Gabrielle's forehead and put the other hand on Xena's, allowing the love they felt for each other to flow through her. She shivered in delight. It was the real thing alright; love of a kind even she didn't encounter often. And it was more than that; their souls were bound together for eternity.

When had that happened? Truthfully, she wasn't sure. In recent months, she'd felt herself drawn to them more and more, but only now did she understand why. As corny as it was, it was the love which had pulled her to them. What she couldn't fathom was why they weren't already together in every sense of the word. Xena must be the most stubborn person in the world not to have given in by now and taken the next step. And it was only Xena who was holding back – Gabrielle was willing, Aphrodite could feel it.

At that moment, the warrior princess' eyes fluttered open, her body becoming instantly alert, as she stared in Aphrodite's direction. She couldn't see her, but she seemed to be sensing that something was there. Hastily, the goddess withdrew. She had promised not to use any of her Godlike powers, so what she needed was help from a mortal in the know, but who to ask? Her nephew, Hercules, would probably be willing to try and talk some sense into Xena, but he was rather pre-occupied with those pesky twelve labours Hera had forced on him. And the other heroes were out – Jason and Achilles just didn't have the people skills and Xena had a downright weird relationship with Odysseus.

Aphrodite suddenly became very aware of exactly where she was and it felt remarkably appropriate to her current mission. 'When on Lesbos...' she murmured to herself as she left Xena and Gabrielle asleep by the waterfall and went to see if Sappho was at home.


	12. Chapter 12

Aphrodite shimmered into existence in the central marketplace of the island. She smiled as she breathed in the scents of garlic and jasmine and saffron in the air. For some reason, she always felt very at home on Lesbos. In truth, it was one of her favourite places. There was just so much, well, love. Lesbos was known for its relaxed attitudes to life, the universe and everything. The citizens of Sappho's island were free to love whoever and however they wanted.

It was clear right away that Sappho was at home. The marketplace was filled with young girls who'd obviously travelled in from the mainland, hoping to catch a glimpse of their idol. And the market traders were out in full force, selling Sappho souvenirs – autographed copies of her poems, amphoras and neck amphoras with her face painted on them, sweets packaged in paper covered with her picture. On one side of the square, some of her more enterprising poetry students were offering 'Sappho tours' – tourists could visit her childhood home, her school, her gardens. On the other side of the square a bakery claimed to be selling Sappho's favourite cakes and, next to it, a stage was being set up for one of her performances. The sight made Aphrodite giggle – fans of the tenth muse were certainly dedicated.

Unseen, Aphrodite crossed the square, dodging girls reciting poetry, girls eating Sappho's favourite food, girls gazing hopefully into the distance, willing Sappho to appear. There were girls everywhere. It was as if half the women in the Aegean had congregated here.

The streets around the marketplace were somewhat quieter and Aphrodite reached her destination quickly enough. It was a luxury hotel complex built around a hot spring and set back from the road. It was Sappho's usual place of residence when she was on the island. She owned the hotel, and, only those she had personally invited were allowed to stay. All those girls down in the square would have given anything for a room.

Sappho was inside, reclining in her bedchamber, a half-written scroll in her hands. Aphrodite paused for a moment to admire the poet. She was certainly a beauty. She was approaching middle age with a strong jaw, striking hazelnut eyes and chestnut hair which cascaded down to her waist in luxurious curls. Her clothing made Aphrodite seem modest; her thin, gauzy skirt was slashed to the thigh and her top left very little to the imagination.

'Well, hello there, poet of mine,' Aphrodite said, allowing herself to be seen.

Sappho didn't look in the least bit surprised to find the goddess of love standing in her bedroom. 'Come to inspire me?' She said, her voice a lazy drawl.

'Thought you were meant to be the muse.'

Sappho flashed Aphrodite a smile which could only be described as flirtatious and shifted position on the bed so that even more of her legs were on display. Aphrodite has to admit that she was tempted.

'How about it, love goddess?' Sappho asked, winking.

'Don't distract me,' Aphrodite pouted. 'I'm here on business.'

'But this is your business...' Sappho rolled onto her front and grinned up at Aphrodite.

'Sappho!'

'But you always come here to play.'

Aphrodite lost focus for a moment, remembering some of her other visits to Lesbos. Sappho watched her, smiling. 'So you do want to play?'

'No, Sappho!' Aphrodite sighed in frustration. 'I'm here about the warrior babe.'

'Xena?' Sappho was serious now.

'I think you know her...'

'We've met.' Met. Flirted. Made out a lot. For some reason stopped short of actual sex. Aphrodite remembered that day all too well – she'd felt the sparks even on Mount Olympus.

Sappho was looking worried now. 'She's ok, isn't she? Xena's a friend...'

'A friend who needs our help...' Aphrodite said and began to explain her plan.

The two of them wandered slowly inland. Their pace was leisurely and Gabrielle at least was in a playful mood. Xena was smiling along and joining in, but she couldn't shake a feeling of uneasiness. The back of her neck was prickling as though someone was watching them.

'There's no one there!' Gabrielle exclaimed in frustration as Xena glanced over her shoulder for the hundredth time.

'Might be someone invisible,' Xena said stubbornly.

Gabrielle laughed. 'That's ridiculous! If we start worrying about invisible people, we'll go crazy.'

Xena glanced over her shoulder again, but tried to make it look as though she was casually scratching her neck. Shaking her head and smiling a little, Gabrielle reached down and grabbed Xena's hand, lacing their fingers together. 'There's no one there,' she said again, her voice quieter this time, more intimate somehow.

Invisible people forgotten, Xena looked down at their joined hands, biting back a smile of her own. This was something new and something which definitely crossed into that non-platonic territory she was trying so hard to avoid. She should probably pull her hand away, but she couldn't quite bring herself to. Gabrielle's fingers just felt so...right, nestled between her own.

The silence between them had suddenly become heavy and they were walking very close together, shoulders and hips bumping with each step. Xena searched desperately for something to say; if this silence carried on for much longer it was going to lead to something else entirely. She found herself mesmerised by the way the mid-morning sun was picking out the highlights in Gabrielle's hair, by the way her all-too-short skirt was swishing around her hips. It was Lesbos. Something about the island always made her lose all sense of rationality. They hadn't intended on coming here at all; they'd been on a ship to Naxos when bad weather had forced them to put into a port just outside of Mytilene, Lesbos' principle city. The ship was still being repaired, so they were stuck on the island for a few days and Gabrielle had wanted to explore.

'So what's Mytilene like?' Gabrielle was asking, apparently just as desperate to break the silence as Xena was.

'Unusual,' Xena said after a moment. 'Sappho's a very...liberal ruler.'

'Do you know her?'

'Yep,' Xena said, getting some rather awkward flashbacks to her last visit to Lesbos and some quality time spent with a half-clothed, giggling poat. Flashbacks she very much wanted to avoid sharing with Gabrielle.

'Xena!' Gabrielle bumped her hip against Xena's in mock annoyance. 'Why didn't you tell me you know Sappho?! You're always doing this – it was just the same when we ran into Hercules for the first time.'

'I'm telling you now. Are you a fan of her poetry then?'

Gabrielle flushed slightly. 'Well, I've never actually read any of it. I mean, I know I should ahve – she is the tenth muse and all, but we didn't have that many books in potideia...'

Xena stopped walking then and stared at Gabrielle, coming to a very uncomfortable realisation. 'So you don't know any of her poems?'

Gabrielle shook her head.

'Do you...' Xena tried her best to seem casual. 'Know what she writes about?'

'Not really. I guess love and war and, you know, stuff poetry's usually about.'

'Love's definitely in there.' They had resumed walking, hands still linked together. 'Gabrielle...do you know anything about this island?'

'My father always said the wine was good.'

The wine. Gabrielle was certainly the first person Xena had ever met whose primary association with Lesbos was the wine. No wonder she hadn't reacted at all when the sailors on the ship had started sniggering as they'd come into the harbour yesterday. It seemed like poor Gabrielle would be in for something of a shock when they finally reached Mytilene.

Xena took a deep breath and prepared to explain, but, at that moment, a crunching sound behind them like someone treading on dry leaves, made them both freeze mid-step.

'Maybe there is an invisible person,' Gabrielle whispered. Then, the two of them turned together. Behind them, looking very visible indeed was a grinning Sappho.


	13. Chapter 13

Xena hung back, watching Sappho and Gabrielle as they walked ahead of her. She wanted to give Gabrielle some alone time with the tenth muse to talk poetry and playwriting. And, from a more selfish perspective, she was enjoying just watching Gabrielle. The younger woman was laughing and happy, bathed in the glow of Sappho's legendary smile. Much as Xena enjoyed the sight of two people she was close to getting on so well, she was still feeling vaguely uneasy. She wasn't sure she wanted Gabrielle to know all of the details of her previous encounters with Sappho. As yet, Sappho hadn't given anything away, but it was only a matter of time- the poet was hardly known for her discretion.

They were coming into Mytilene now and people were beginning to stare, most of them at Sappho, but Gabrielle was turning a few heads too. Not that she'd noticed – she was still chattering away animatedly.

Sappho turned back towards Xena and grinned. 'I'm putting the two of you up at the hotel. I'm afraid you might have to share a room though. The island's overrun with visitors at this time of year.'

'That's ok.' What kind of game was Sappho playing? There was always room at the hotel. It was only Sappho's personal guests who ever stayed there.

'The Blue Suite is free,' Sappho added with an even wider grin.

Xena wished she could remember what exactly was special about the Blue Suite. She had a feeling that Sappho had a surprise in mind.

They'd entered the hotel complex now and Xena was struck by how wonderfully peaceful it was. The hustle and bustle of the outside world seemed to have been absorbed by the thick stone walls, enveloping them in a tranquil silence. They were in an open air courtyard with a fountain in the middle. The fountain the centrepiece of an artificial lake and a number of women were swimming and sunbathing. Gabrielle's whole face lit up as she watched them.

'Xena,' she said. 'Can we go for a swim later?'

Xena gulped. 'Um, sure,' she said. The standard practice on Lesbos was to swim naked and she could really do without seeing Gabrielle naked if she had any hope of keeping things merely platonic.

Her reaction drew a laugh from Sappho and Xena glared at her. 'Xena loves the pool,' Sappho said with a suggestively raised eyebrow which made Xena want to kick her. 'The Blue Suite's this way.'

Xena and Gabrielle followed Sappho down a corridor away from the pool. Soon, they were outside again and walking away from the hotel, over a well-kept lawn.

'You will join me tonight, won't you?' Sappho was saying. 'My niece is getting married and the celebrations will go on all evening.'

Xena stared to make an excuse; she knew all too well what Sappho's idea of celebrating involved, but one look at Gabrielle's excited puppy-dog eyes and she couldn't do it. It wasn't very often that they got to go to parties.

'We'd love to,' Xena said, hoping she sounded convincing.

'Great. There are some clothes which you can borrow in the Blue Suite,' said Sappho and then added with a glance at Gabrielle 'Xena never travels with enough clothes.'

They had reached the woods at the edge of Sappho's estate now and they must have been at least 200 metres away from the rest of the hotel.

'Where exactly are we going?' Xena asked.

'You'll see,' Sappho said and grinned again. She led them into the trees, along a sandy path. It was lined with miniature candles and, unless Xena was very much mistaken, there appeared to be a scattering of rose petals on the ground. Xena's heart sank like a stone as she finally remembered what the Blue Suite was.

'Are you sure your niece won't be wanting to stay here tomorrow night?' she asked.

'Oh no,' Sappho said airily 'she's heading straight to Naxos for the honeymoon.'

Xena risked a glance across at Gabrielle. 'Are those rose petals?' Gabrielle asked, staring at the ground.

'You really don't have another room?' There was a note of something approaching despair in Xena's voice.

'Sorry. Like I said, the place is overrun with tourists.'

Xena looked around her. As far as she could tell, the whole area was completely deserted.

The path turned sharply to the right, and, in front of them, was a small, one-storey wooden building. The rose petals helpfully led all the way to the door and, the door itself was flanked by two statues of grinning Cupids. Sappho handed them two wooden keys 'Well, I'll give you a chance to get settled in then,' she said with a wink which Xena hated her for, and then waltzed off back in the direction they'd come from.

Xena and Gabrielle stood still for a moment. Xena, who had happily knocked on doors which led down into the pits of Hades, suddenly found that doors flanked by grinning Cupids could be a whole lot more intimidating in certain situations. 'We could sleep out here,' she said, indicating the sandy path. 'Looks kind of soft.'

But Gabrielle was having none of it. 'I'm not sleeping out here when there's a perfectly good bed in there.'

And, with that, she marched forwards, inserted her key into the lock, and opened the door.

'What's it like?' Xena asked, still outside.

Gabrielle's voice came from within. 'It's very...um...intimate,' she said.


	14. Chapter 14

'Intimate' was certainly the word for it. The lighting was so low that Xena could barely see a metre in front of her. The bed was heart-shaped, and the trail of rose petals on the path outside led all the way up to it. There were some very revealing dresses and night dresses laid out on the bed and Xena had a horrible feeling that, if she returned to the saddlebags she'd left with Argo, she'd find that Sappho had temporarily removed all of their own clothing. She didn't know what game Sappho was playing or why she was playing it, but she knew she wasn't enjoying it overmuch.

Beside her, Gabrielle was speechless. That in itself was some kind of a record.

'As you said, it's intimate,' Xena said, just to fill the silence.

Gabrielle walked over to the bed and picked up one of the dresses with a puzzled frown. 'I'm guessing this is the honeymoon suite,' she said.

'Probably safe to assume that, yes.'

'Then why are there only women's clothes here?'

Xena could feel a blush creeping across her cheeks. She'd momentarily forgotten that Gabrielle didn't know anything about Sappho, and she really didn't want to explain given their current surroundings.

'We should get ready for Sappho's party,' she said, hastily sidestepping the question.

'How do I look?' Gabrielle asked, giving a twirl.

Xena swallowed. Hard. The dress Gabrielle was wearing was olive green and matched her eyes. The fabric of it was soft and silky. It slithered over Gabrielle's body, clinging at the hips and chest, offering tantalising hints of what lay beneath. Xena's whole being ached to touch her.

'Um...very nice,' she stammered. And then added 'beautiful,' when she saw Gabrielle's slightly disappointed expression.

'Really?'

'Really.'

Gabrielle smiled then. 'There's a fastening at the back,' she said. 'Could you do it up for me?'

'Sure,' Xena stood, the red dress she was wearing, rippling over her legs as she moved. It was an unfamiliar sensation, but rather a pleasant one. She wished they had more opportunities to dress up; as much as she loved her armour, it was nice to feel girly for once.

Gabrielle was watching her as she walked and Xena was suddenly all too aware of just how low cut the red dress was. Gabrielle's eyes were flickering to her chest and then back to her face, a crimson blush spreading across her cheeks.

Xena moved behind her and gently lifted the blond hair out of the way, hands lingering for a moment longer than they should. With fingers which were shaking slightly, she did up the clasp at the back of the other woman's neck, allowing her fingers to rest on the soft skin at the top of Gabrielle's spine. Gabrielle shivered at her touch and Xena felt her own breathing quicken slightly. She became almost transfixed by the sight of a pulse beating in the side of Gabrielle's neck and, without thinking, she bent down and kissed it gently, a soft butterfly kiss which made Gabrielle shiver again. Hastily, Xena drew back, trying to put some distance between them. At the same moment, Gabrielle turned so that they were facing one another. Green eyes met blue ones and neither of them looked away for a long moment.

'Can I do your hair?' Gabrielle asked, looking down at the ground, in an obvious attempt to break the tension.

Xena knew that she should say no, knew that prolonged physical contact really wasn't a good idea right now, but she found she couldn't. Instead, she nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed. Gabrielle knelt behind her, so close that she could feel the heat from her body. All the nerve endings in Xena's back felt as though they were on fire from the nearness of her.

As Gabrielle began to sift Xena's hair through her fingers and pin it back, Xena tried her hardest to rationalise the whole thing. They were friends; friends did each other's hair all the time, everyone knew that. But friends didn't sit quite this close while they were doing it, didn't let their fingers linger against a shoulder blade in a way which was almost a caress, didn't quickly kiss the top of your head when they'd finished.

As Gabrielle withdrew her hands, Xena quickly stood, her height creating some much needed distance between them. The desire to get away from this low lighting and that heart-shaped bed suddenly became overwhelming.

'Come on,' she said. 'let's get to this party.


	15. Chapter 15

Gabrielle had slipped her arm through Xena's and they paused, side-by-side, in the doorway to the main ballroom. They were at the top of a flight of stairs and, below them, on the huge, wooden dance floor, the party was in full swing. They had missed the actual wedding ceremony, but Xena could easily pick out Sappho's niece and her new wife. For one thing, the neice looked almost exactly like Sappho, but twenty years younger, and, for another, she was sprawled in a chair with her partner curled up on her lap. Around them were a circle of women smiling and laughing.

'Where are the bride and groom?' Gabrielle asked, gazing out at the largely female crowd. Apart from the newly married couple, none of the women were being overly physical with each other yet, but Xena had a feeling that the party would go that way eventually; there were a lot of flirtatious glances and hands placed proprietarily on waists. For now though, it wasn't obvious and there were a few men present too.

Gabrielle was looking up at her, demanding an answer, but, at that moment, Sappho appeared beside them and ushered them further into the room.

'Where's your niece?' Gabrielle asked, apparently unwilling to let this one drop. 'I'd like to congratulate her.'

'Over there,' Sappho said, gesturing to where her niece was now feeding her partner strawberries in a distinctly suggestive manner. Gabrielle's face furrowed into a perplexed frown as Sappho was called away from them by some of her other guests.

'Xena!' a male voice boomed from behind them.

Xena turned, instantly wary. There were a number of people who she'd met on Lesbos before and who she had no desire to encounter again, particularly not when Gabrielle was standing beside her. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who the speaker was. He was Mentor, an old friend of her mother's. She had no idea what he was doing on the island and, frankly, she didn't care. She was just relieved he wasn't a former lover.

She embraced him and then he turned to Gabrielle and looked her over appraisingly. 'Are you one of Sappho's girls?' he asked.

Gabrielle clearly had no idea what he was talking about.

'No,' Xena said, a little shortly. 'She's not employed here. She's with me.'

Mentor grinned broadly. 'Knew someone would snare the warrior princess eventually,' he said with a suggestively raised eyebrow.

'She's a friend,' Xena muttered and then wanted the floor to swallow her whole when Mentor winked at her. Gabrielle looked back and forth between then, her cheeks turning a deep shade of scarlet.

'I ran into Helen a couple of weeks ago,' Mentor said. 'heard she was another 'friend' or yours.'

Xena reddened at the emphasis he placed on the word friend – she and Helen had certainly shared a few less-than-platonic moments. She risked another glance at Gabrielle. Luckily, the other woman didn't seem to have picked up on it and was instead trying to steer the conversation towards more familiar territory.

'Do you mean Helen of Troy? Xena and I saw her a couple of years ago...'

As Gabrielle launched into the story of their encounter with Helen, Xena cast a longer glance around the room. To her dismay, there were quite a few familiar faces present. Lesbos had been one of her favourite places back in her warlord days. Often she came with a companion – usually female, although not always – but, sometimes, she came alone. At those times, the island was quick to provide and she never remained alone for very long. She realised suddenly that there were some details about her past which she never wanted Gabrielle to know.

'...But of course you know how much Xena hates sleeping in...' Mentor was saying with another wink. 'I bet she wakes you up early...'

Before Gabrielle could reply, Xena grabbed her arm, muttered an excuse and steered her rather forcefully towards a quiet corner of the room.

Beside her, Gabrielle was a mass of questions. 'Did he think we were together?' she asked. 'Like a couple?'

'Probably,' Xena said, resignation in her voice.

'But why would he assume that?'

Instead of answering, Xena pressed a glass of wine into Gabrielle's hand and looked around her again. More than a few people were casting furtive glances in their direction, or, more specifically, in Gabrielle's direction. The warrior princess' pretty companion was clearly something of a talking point.

Xena sighed and resigned herself to a very long evening.

On the other side of the room, Mentor laughed. Then, retreating behind a rather large punch bowl, shook himself a couple of times. Immediately, he became a she and she was Aphrodite. 'I always get a kick out of being a dude,' she muttered to herself. Then, she shook herself again, becoming yet another of Xena's former acquaintances.

'Xena!' This time the voice was female and, at the sound of it, Xena's heart sank like a stone. She turned and found herself face-to-face with Calypso, one of her more enthusiastic former lovers.

'Hi,' she said, somewhat dejectedly. This island was far too small. 'Thought you were still hanging out with Odysseus.'

Aphrodite in the guise of Calypso silently cursed. She'd never really been into fact checking. 'he...left...' she stammered and then, rallying, added 'So I'm footloose and fancy free and oh-so-available.'

'Well, good for you.'

'So, how about you, warrior mine? You up for some 'reminiscing' later on? We could check out the pool just like old times...' A suggestive eyebrow had been raised.

'I...er...I can't...' Beside her, Gabrielle's grin was a mile wide as Xena grew more and more embarrassed.

'But we had so much fun together.' Aphrodite-Calypso was standing very close now.

'Too much fun,' Xena said, stepping backwards rapidly.

'Wait...' Aphrodite looked from Xena to Gabrielle, the picture of wide-eyed innocence. 'Are you two...?

'Yes!' Xena said, without thinking. 'Yes, we're together,' and she flung an arm around a rather startled Gabrielle.

'In that case,' Aphrodite said with a grin. 'I'll leave the two of you alone.' And with that, she waltzed off into the crowd.

As soon as she'd gone, Gabrielle began to laugh. 'I've never seen you so awkward. You looked terrified.'

'Gabrielle,' Xena said, hastily removing her arm from Gabrielle's waist. 'That woman's unstoppable. She wouldn't have left me alone for a moment.'

Gabrielle was still laughing. 'I take it she's an ex?'

'Something like that.'

'You do realise that now we have to pretend to be together until we leave the island?'

'yes.' Xena said 'Yes, I do.'

'Xena!' This time the voice was Sappho's 'Calypso tells me that you and the lovely Gabrielle are a couple...'


End file.
